MISSIONARY  SERMON, 


PREACHED  BEFORE  THE 


Jfcjwatto  of  ^ittjsbuvgti  ami  gew  tyoxk 


BY 

REV.  G.  LANSING, 

MISSIONARY  IN  EGYPT. 


PITTSBURGH: 

United  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication. 


PRINTED  BY  W.  8.  HAVEN. 

1864 


SERMON. 


“So  FIGHT  I,  NOT  AS  ONE  THAT  BEATETH  THE  AIR.” 

1 Oor.  9 : 26. 

Of  earthly  warfare  you  have  all  of  late  heard  much — 
so  much,  that  many  of  you  doubtless  think  yourselves 
qualified  to  sit  in  judgment  upon  and  criticise  the  tac- 
tics and  management  of  colonels  and  generals ; and 
some  of  you  may  think,  that  had  you  only  the  opportu- 
nity, you  could  lead  to  victory  and  glory  great  armies, 
and  save  your  country  from  her  enemies.  My  text 
speaks  of  a warfare ; but  it  is  a warfare  of  a very  dif- 
ferent character.  True,  it  also  has  had  its  bloody  fields  ; 
for  those  engaged  in  it  have  sometimes  been  forced  “ to 
resist  unto  blood,  striving  against  sin  ; ” but  its  contests 
have  usually  been  spiritual  conflicts,  and  its  victories, 
peace.  Its  “garments  rolled  in  blood”  have  been 
martyrs’  robes,  in  which,  like  Elijah,  they  have  gone  up 
from  earth  to  heaven ; but  they  have  left  them  to  other 
Elishas,  proud  to  wear  them  and  ready  to  honor  them 
by  following  their  masters.  Its  standard  is  not  the 
proud-soaring  eagle,  nor  the  rampant  lion,  nor  yet  the 
prowling  northern  bear,  but  the  olive-branch.  The 
inscription  on  its  angel-given  banner,  handed  down  to 
us  by  the  leaders  of  “the  heavenly  host,”  on  the  plains 
of  Bethlehem,  is,  “ Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on 
earth  peace,  good  will  toward  men.”  Its  martial  music 
is  “psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs;”  its  book 
of  tactics,  “ the  gospel  of  peace and  its  captain, 


4 


“Immanuel,”  the  “Prince  of  Peace.”  But  yet  this 
warfare  is  of  much  more  consequence  than  most  war- 
riors in  the  field  and  would-be  champions  in  the  parlor 
and  tap-room  imagine  or  are  willing  to  admit.  Its  ends 
are  noble,  nay,  glorious ; its  policy  and  system  of  tac- 
tics perfect;  its  list  of  heroes,  dead  and  living,  enrols 
most  of  the  noblest  names  of  earth ; its  battle-fields  are 
widely  extended  and  keenly  contested,  and  its  issue  is 
not  dubious,  but  certain ; it  will  be  the  triumphant  and 
eternal  victory  and  establishment  of  truth  and  right- 
eousness and  peace.  So  important  is  this  contest,  that 
all  others  in  comparison  sink  into  insignificance.  Even 
this  your  war,  which  looms  up  so  largely  before  the  pub- 
lic vision,  is  chiefly,  if  not  altogether,  important  as 
being  (if  it  be,)  a part  of  this  great  moral  and  spiritual 
warfare;  and  if  it  be  not,  why,  in  the  name  of  God 
and  of  suffering  humanity,  why  all  this  bloodshed  and 
woe  ? When  the  excitement  and  passion  of  the  actual 
conflict  shall  have  passed,  and  there  be  left  the  mangled 
forms  and  wrecked  morals  of  our  brave  ones  who  have 
returned,  the  bitter  memories  of  the  thousands  who  have 
been  hurried  away  to  their  last  account,  the  desolated 
hearths,  and  these  weeds  of  mourning  covering  broken 
hearts ; what  then  will  be  the  verdict  of  the  nations  of 
the  earth,  of  posterity,  of  our  own  consciences  ? And 
how  will  we  justify  ourselves,  if  this  great  moral  conflict 
has  not  been  fought,  if  our  national  sins  have  not  been 
repented  of,  and  especially  if  our  bondmen  have  not 
been  freed  ? 

But  it  is  not  my  intention  to  dwell  on  this  topic, 
though  it  be  one  of  intense  and  pressing  importance ; 
nor  yet,  in  general,  on  the  great  spiritual  contest  with 
the  powers  of  darkness,  which  is  going  on  in  the  world. 
To  do  so,  to  describe  the  opposing  hosts,  as  at  present 
they  lie  entrenched  in  serried  ranks,  or  arc  engaged  in 
deadly  conflict;  to  trace  back  to  the  earliest  ages,  the 
history  of  this  great  warfare;  to  linger  on  its  world- 
renowned  battlefields;  to  delineate  the  character  and 


recount  the  deeds  of  its  past  champions ; to  examine 
the  kinds  and  temper  of  the  spiritual  weapons  furnished 
in  its  gospel  armory;  to  study  the  principles  which  gov- 
ern and  the  tactics  which  direct  the  warfare,  as  laid 
down  in  the  Bible,  the  great  statute-book  of  the  king- 
dom; all  this  would  be  interesting  and  profitable,  but 
all  this  is  beside  my  purpose.  The  apostolic  precedent 
assigns  to  me  a different  task.  We  are  told,  that  when 
Paul  and  Barnabas  returned  from  the  first  great  mis- 
sionary campaign  of  the  Christian  church  at  Antioch, 
whence  they  had  been  recommended  to  the  grace  of 
God,  for  the  work  which  they  fulfilled,  they  gathered 
the  church  together  and  rehearsed  all  that  God  had 
done  with  them,  and  how  he  had  opened  the  door  of 
faith  to  the  Gentiles.  Having  been  thus  commissioned 
by  you,  and  committed  to  the  grace  of  God,  and  sent 
forth  to  fight  for  Him  in  the  high  places  of  the  field,  far 
in  the  interior  of  the  enemy’s  territory,  it  becomes  me, 
on  returning,  to  tell  you  something  of  what  God  has 
done  by  and  through  us,  some  incidents  of  the  warfare, 
the  principles  on  which  it  has  been  conducted,  and  the 
present  situation ; and  I trust  the  sequel  will  show,  that 
although  we  have  made  some  mistakes,  and  met  with 
some  partial  defeats,  which  in  my  accounts  I shall  not 
attempt  to  palliate  or  conceal,  our  progress  has  still 
been,  on  the  whole,  substantial  and  encouraging,  so  that 
we  may  apply  to  ourselves  and  the  warfare  in  which  we 
are  engaged,  the  words  of  the  apostle,  “ So  fight  I,  not 
as  one  that  beateth  the  air,” 

That  missionary  tour  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  with  his 
associate  Barnabas,  and  their  servant  John,  to  which 
reference  has  already  been  made,  together  with  the 
other  similar  ones  of  which  we  have  the  account  in  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  were  more  of  the  nature  of  what 
in  modern  parlance  would  be  called  “raids”  into  the 
enemy’s  country,  than  regular,  settled  warfare.  Their 
circumstances  favored,  nay,  demanded  such  a course. 
It  was  important  that  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  crucL 

1* 


6 


fixion  and  resurrection  of  the  Saviour,  the  standard  of 
the  cross  should  be  displayed  as  -widely  and  set  up  in  as 
many  places  as  possible.  It  -was  important  that  it  should 
be  done  while  the  men  were  yet  living  who  had  witnessed 
and  could  testify  to  the  facts  proclaimed.  The  state  of 
the  people  to  whom  they  went  favored  a speedy  and  wide 
success,  and  promised  what  was  soon  after  realized,  a 
mighty  rallying  to  the  gospel  standard.  The  enemy 
was  then  unprepared  to  offer  an  organized  resistance. 
The  tall  castles  of  entrenched  error  and  superstition, 
which  former  generations  had  built,  had,  in  God’s  prov- 
idence, as  by  a mighty  earthquake,  been  shaken  to  pieces 
and  leveled  with  the  ground  : and  the  apostles,  by  their 
supernatural  endowment  with  the  gift  of  tongues  and 
the  power  of  working  miracles,  were  prepared  at  once 
to  carry  the  war  into  the  enemy’s  country.  But  our 
circumstances  are  now  in  all  these  respects  different. 
We  must  now  have  our  military  schools  and  training 
camps,  and  we  must  secure  and  entrench  our  base  of 
operations  before  we  can  safely  or  to  good  effect  spread 
ourselves  over  the  enemy’s  country.  Still  we  have  been 
enabled,  as  you  will  see  from  rhe  sequel,  to  make  some 
extensive  and  very  successful  raids  into  the  enemy's 
country.  And  the  apostles  too  had  their  bases  of  opera- 
tions, first  at  Jerusalem  and  Antioch,  and  then  at  Alex- 
andria and  Rome,  at  which  they  laid  more  regular  and 
systematic  siege  to  the  enemy’s  works:  and  afterward 
Paul  boldly  planted  his  batteries  and  worked  his  guns 
first  “ for  the  space  of  three  months  in  the  Jewish  syna- 
gogue, where  he  boldly  spake  disputing  and  persuading 
the  things  concerning  the  kingdom  of  God,  with  all 
humility  of  mind,  and  witli  many  tears  and  temptations 
which  befel  him  by  tho  laying  in  wait  of  the  Jews  and 
then  daily  for  two  years  in  the  school  of  one  Tyranus ; 
60  that  he  spent  before  the  two  great  citadels  of  Jewish 
and  heathen  superstition  and  error,  in  the  great  city  of 
the  great  Diana  of  Ephesus,  three  years;  and  glorious 
was  the  victory  which  he  thus  achieved  : for  “the  name 


i 

of  the  Lord  Jesus  was  magnified,  and  many  that  believed 
came  and  showed  their  deeds,  many  of  them  also  which 
used  curious  arts  brought  their  books  together  and 
burned  them  before  all  men,  and  they  counted  the  price 
of  them,  and  found  it  fifty  thousand  pieces  of  silver,  so 
mightily  grew  the  word  of  God  and  prevailed .”  Thus 
we  trust  it  will  be  found  that  although  there  may  have 
been  some  difference  in  detail,  yet  the  principles  of  our 
warfare  have  been  substantially  those  which  are  laid 
down  and  exemplified  in  our  divinely  inspired  book  of 
tactics. 

Let  us  trace  out  the  whole  campaign;  first,  in  its 
preliminary  preparations,  and  then  the  actual  service  ; 
and  in  so  doing  let  us  begin  with 

The  Enrollment.  Here  two  modes  of  procedure  pre- 
sent themselves,  voluntary  enlistment  and  impressment, 
or  the  draft.  The  former  has  hitherto  been  mostly  de- 
pended upon  to  recruit  the  missionary  ranks.  It  has 
secured  many  noble  men  for  the  service.  But  its  supply 
has  been  inadequate  to  the  demands  of  the  work,  and 
with  all  our  Mission  Boards  the  cry  still  is  for  more  men, 
men  of  the  right  stamp.  The  latter  1 believe  should  be 
at  once  resorted  to.  A strong  prejudice,  I know,  exists 
against  this;  but  it  is  not  well  founded.  This  prejudice 
with  its  grounds  is  fairly  stated  in  the  following  extract 
from  Missionary  Tract  No.  2,  published  by  the  A.  B.  C. 
F.  M.  (the  oldest  missionary  society  in  the  country,  and 
the  one  which  in  this  and  most  other  matters  has  given 
law  to  the  rest.)  It  is  there  said:  “But  fey  missionaries 
would  be  obtained  in  this  way,  (viz.,  by  the  call  of  the 
Church  or  Board.)  The  missionary  spirit  has  not  yet 
strong  hold  enough  upon  the  churches  or  upon  the  colle- 
ges or  theological  seminaries  for  the  adoption  of  such  a 
plan.  Were  the  responsibility  thus  taken  from  the  stu- 
dents, they  would  seldom  be  found  in  a state  of  mind  to 
give  an  affirmative  answer'to  the  call.”  Is  this  state- 
ment true?  Is  it  not  a slander  upon  our  theological 
students?  It  is  true  that  but  few  of  them  now  step  for- 


ward  and  offer  themselves  for  the  work  ; and  as  men  of 
modesty,  that  modesty  which  usually  accompanies  merit, 
we  can  justify  them  in  this;  but  we  cannot  believe  that 
the  large  majority  of  those  who,  by  their  presence  in 
the  theological  ranks,  have  professed  their  belief  that 
they  are  called  by  that  divine  call  and  commission, 
whose  terms  are  “the  whole  world,”  would  be  found  so 
wanting  in  the  spirit  of  that  commission,  as  to  refuse  to 
go,  were  they  regularly  called  to  the  work  by  the  high 
authority  of  the  church  of  Christ.  Or,  if  it  be  true 
that  such  a spirit  exists  in  their  ranks,  it  must  be  owing 
to  the  inculcation  of  a doctrine  which  further  on,  in  the 
same  tract,  we  find  enunciated;  viz.  “that  consecration 
to  the  missionary  work  for  life  involves  a somewhat 
peculiar  experience  of  its  own.”  This  we  cannot  be- 
lieve. The  command  and  commission  of  the  Saviour 
are,  “Go  ye  into  all  the  world;”  and  if  our  young  men 
profess  to  have  a different  one,  they  should  be  plainly 
asked  on  what  authority  they  have  received  it;  and  if 
they  cannot  satisfactorily  answer  this  question,  they 
should  be  sent  back  again  to  their  farms  and  merchan- 
dise. The  Saviour  wants  no  such  temporizing,  half- 
hearted servants.  His  service  admits  no  such  mental 
reservations.  Paul  was  not  thus  called  out  to  that  good 
fight  which  he  fought ; to  that  warfare  in  which,  to  use 
his  own  words  in  the  text,  he  was  “not  as  one  that 
beateth  the  air.”  His  first  question  on  beholding  the 
vision  of  Christ,  was,  “Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to 
do?”  and  he  received  for  answer,  “Arise,  go  into  the 
city,  and  it  sliall  be  told  thee  what  thou  must  do.”  Blind 
and  passive,  led  along  by  the  hand,  he  was  to  follow  the 
divine  direction;  and  unto  Ananias  it  was  revealed 
what  the  Lord’s  purpose  concerning  him  was:  “He  is 
a chosen  vessel  unto  me,  to  bear  my  name  before  the 
Gentiles,  and  kings,  and  the  children  of  Israel.”  To 
this  divine  call  and  heavenly  vision,  Paul,  to  use  his  own 
words  subsequently  to  Agrippa,  “was  not  disobedient.” 
By  act,  though  not,  it  may  be,  in  express  terms,  he  said 


y 


with  Isaiah,  “Here  am  I;  send  me" — a very  proper 
form  of  answer  to  the  divine  call  when  inspired  by  the 
divine  Spirit;  not  (as  now  usually  quoted)  a formula,  to 
be  used  by  a young  man  offering  himself  to,  it  may  be 
obtruding  himself  upon,  a church  or  mission  board.  It 
is  the  response  of  self-consecration  to  the  call  of  God, 
in  his  word,  his  providence  and  by  his  Spirit.  The  call 
of  the  church  is  differently  arranged.  We  have  it  thus 
in  our  divinely  inspired  manjial:  “As  they  (viz.  the 
prophets  and  teachers,  the  presbytery  of  the  church  of 
Antioch)  ministered  unto  the  Lord  and  fasted,  the  Holy 
Ghost  said,  Separate  for  me  Barnabas  and  Saul  for  the 
work  whereunto  I have  called  them.”  The  Holy  Ghost 
did  not  say  to  Barnabas  and  Saul,  “ Offer  yourselves 
unto  the  church  for  the  work,”  but  he  said  to  the 
church,  “Separate  them;”  and  this  is  authoritative  pre- 
cedent. Thus  it  was  that  Paul  was  “ appointed  a 
preacher,  and  an  apostle  and  a teacher  to  the  Gentiles.” 
Thus  it  is  that  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  thrust  forth 
laborers  into  his  harvest.  “No  man  taketh  this  honor 
unto  himself  but  he  that  is  called  of  God,  as  was  Aaron.” 
And  Aaron’s  call  consisted  in  God’s  commanding  Moses 
to  set  him  and  his  sons  apart  to  minister  unto  Him  in 
the  priest’s  office.  See  also  Num.  8:  9-11.  Thus  the 
divine  rule  is  established,  and  it  should  be  sufficient  for 
us,  without  further  reasons,  many  of  which  suggest  them- 
selves. We  will,  however,  briefly  mention  two. 

1st.  Young  men  fresh  from  our  theological  halls,  with 
but  little  experience  of  the  world,  with  little  ability  and 
less  leisure  to  take  a deliberate  and  comprehensive  view 
of  the  world’s  great  battle-field,  cannot  be  supposed 
qualified  to  make  an  intelligent  choice  of  a field  for 
their  life  labor;  and  even  much  of  the  missionary  liter- 
ature of  the  day,  and  that  which  is  most  attractive  to 
imaginative  and  enthusiastic  minds*  is  very  illy  suited  to 
help  them  forward  in  the  matter.  Their  theological 
professors,  who  have  long  and  closely  studied  their  hab- 
itudes of  mind,  and  their  fathers  and  elders  in  the 


10 


presbytery,  who  have  long  been  accustomed  to  take  a 
comprehensive  and  intelligent  view  of  the  work  and  the 
world’s  wants,  are  much  better  qualified  to  judge  in  the 
matter,  and  they  should  decide;  and  the  young  men 
should,  in  all  ordinary  cases,  consider  their  decision 
authoritative  as  the  call  of  God  through  his  church,  and 
act  accordingly.  And  if,  at  any  time,  the  fathers  of  the 
church  should  find  themselves  in  uncertainty  as  to  a 
choice,  they  should  then  prayerfully  and  reverently  ap- 
peal to  the  lot,  as  was  done  in  the  selection  of  Matthias 
to  be  an  apostle;  and  the  decision  of  the  lot  should  be 
considered  the  decision  of  God.  “The  lot  is  cast  into 
the  lap,  but  the  whole  disposing  thereof  is  of  the  Lord.” 
2d.  Most  young  men  find  after  going  out,  that  the 
work  is  a very  different  one  from  that  which,  in  their 
day-dreams,  they  had  pictured  to  their  imaginations. 
They  find,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  smattering  which 
they  had  obtained  at  home  of  Latin,  Greek  and  He- 
brew, and  perhaps  of  several  modern  languages,  gave 
them  no  idea  whatever  of  the  herculean  task  of  master- 
ing a foreign  language  in  the  manner  in  which  they 
must  now  acquire  it,  in  its  ancient  roots  as  well  as  in  its 
modern  idioms,  so  as  to  read,  write  and  speak  it,  not 
only  on  the  subject  of  religion,  but  on  all  subjects,  and 
that  with  fluency  and  power.  This  is  a labor  of  long, 
weary  years,  perhaps  in  a debilitating  climate,  and  often 
with  many  distracting  cares,  without  comrades  and  class- 
mates to  emulate,  or  surrounding  Christian  influences  to 
encourage  and  stimulate;  with  all  around,  on  the  con- 
trary, calculated  to  chill,  and  paralyze  and  corrupt. 
Hie  labor , hoc  opus  est.  And  then  when  he  is  able  to 
make  his  first  weak  attempts  at  evangelization  (and  for 
a long  time  they  must  bo  very  weak),  he  finds  those  to 
whom  he  has  come,  so  different  from  what  he  had  fan- 
cied, so  corrupt  in  morals,  so  entrenched  in  error  and 
superstition,  so  diverse  in  their  mental  habitudes  and 
modes  of  thought  and  feeling  from  all  his  past  experi- 
ence, that  he  is  often  ready  to  give  up  in  despair.  He 


must  meet  days  and  Weeks  of  discouragement  and  des- 
pondency, when  all  is  so  dark  around  that  it  seems  no 
ray  of  light  can  penetrate,  when  nothing  but  a deep  and 
settled  sense  of  duty  can  “lift  up  the  hands  that  hang 
down  and  the  feeble  knees.”  Oh  how  comforting  and 
sustaining  is  it  to  him  then,  to  know  that  he  has  not 
undertaken  this  warfare  on  his  own  charges,  or  even  at 
his  cwn  suggestion ; that  he  has  not  run  unsent  or  sent 
only  on  his  own  blind  and  pertinacious  obtrusion  of 
himself  upon  a church  half-awake  to  its  duty,  to  do 
something  for  the  heathen,  and  half-willing  to  humor 
him  in  his  romantic,  youthful  whim*;  that  he  has  been 
sent,  in  a word,  by  the  enlightened  and  deliberate  call 
of  the  church,  nay,  by  God  himself  speaking  through 
his  church,  and  that  it  is  his  duty,  though  in  the  midst 
of  darkness  and  under  the  most  discouraging  circum- 
stances, to  go  on  in  the  good  warfare  even  unto  the  end, 
and  irrespective  of  all  views  of  present  success.  Nothing 
hut  such  a sense  of  duty  can  then  support  a man ; and  for 
these  and  other  reasons,  and  above  all,  because  it  is  the 
divine  plan ; we  believe  in  impressment  and  the  draft , and 
that  without  any  provision  for  substitutes  or  three  hundred 
dollars  commutation ; and  let  those  who  question  the  “con- 
stitutional authority”  of  King  Jesus  to  draft  his  men,  who 
resist  or  refuse,  be-called  “copperheads,"'  or  leadhearts, 
or  any  other  name  you  choose.  I think  the  prophet  who 
called  a certain  class  of  the  priests  of  his  day,  “dumb 
dogs  that  could  not  bark,”  would  call  these  weak,  faint- 
hearted brethren,  “poodles,”  fit  only  to  wear  a red 
ribbon  around  their  necks,  to  lounge  on  the  sofas  of 
luxuriantly  furnished  parlors,  and  hang  about  the  apron 
strings  of  ancient  maiden  ladies. 

I have  connected  with  the  enrollment  two  other  very 
important  principles,  which  I shall  barely  state,  without 
enlarging. 

1st.  And  it  is  a point  which  can  only  be  secured  by 
the  impressment  or  draft  above  advocated.  The  best 
men  in  the  church  should  be  sent — the  Pauls  and  Barna- 


12 


bases,  “sons  of  consolation  and  sons  of  thunder,”  men 
who  will  carry  with  them  the  full  and  implicit  confidence 
of  the  churches  at  home,  and  cause  the  heathen  to  say, 
“The  gods  are  come  down  to  us  in  the  likeness  of  men,” 
and  tempt  them  to  sacrifice  to  them  as  to  other  Jupiters 
and  Mercuries.  Such  are  the  men  who  should  be  sent ; 
and  your  raw  recruits,  and  men  weak  in  body  or  heart, 
should  be  retained  at  home  in  your  training  schools,  in 
camp  convalescent,  and  to  man  the  home  defenses ; also, 
all  such  young  men  as  think  themselves,  or  are  thought 
by  their  doting  parents  and  friends,  too  talented  to  go 
forth  and  have  the*-  talents  buried  in  a far-off  heathen 
land.  These  also  should  remain  at  home;  they  have 
no  call. 

2d.  Such  men  should  be  sent  in  sufficient  numbers  to 
accomplish  the  work  to  be  done.  Fresh  in  your  minds 
is  the  senseless  cry,  “On  to  Richmond,”  the  shameful 
repulses  of  Bull  Run,  the  disastrous  defeats  of  Freder- 
icksburg and  Chancellorsville,  the  blood-stained  high- 
lands of  the  Peninsula,  and  our  brave  ones  rotting 
by  thousands  in  the  malarious  swamps  and  marshes  of 
the  Chickahominy ; and  all  now  agree  that  this  awful 
waste  of  human  life  has  resulted  from  the  want  of  a due 
appreciation  of  the  work  to  be  done,  and  then  a delibe- 
rate, determined  and  adequate  preparation  therefor. 
And  such  has  been  for  the  last  half  century  the  warfare 
of  the  Protestant  church  with  earth’s  rebeldom  against 
the  kingdom  of  God.  The  church  was  then  awaked  to 
a tardy  but  inadequate  sense  of  her  duty.  The  war 
cry,  “On  to  the  battlefield,”  and  the  “Battle-field  is 
the  world , the  whole  world,”  was  taken  up;  men  were 
sent  forth  singly  to  many  great  battle-fields,  in  pairs  or 
in  small  bands  to  others.  They  have  fought  nobly.  As 
leaders  of  a forlorn  hope,  they  have  bravely  thrown 
themselves  against  the  bristling  battlements  of  the 
enemy,  and  fallen  gloriously.  What  has  been  effected 
in  many  places  is  sufficient  evidence  of  what  might  have 
boen  done,  and  pledge  of  what  will  bo  done,  when  the 


13 


church  enters  upon  the  work  in  earnest  and  with  ade* 
quate  forces.  Sixteen  hundred  missionaries  from  all 
Protestant  Europe  and  America ! What  are  these 
among  so  many?  Is  the  prophecy  that  one  shall  chase 
a thousand,  the  rule  of  our  duty?  But  even  were  it  so, 
how  inadequate  the  force ! One  must  chase  not  a thou- 
sand, but  ten  thousand!  It  is  not  the  policy  of  the  Cap- 
tain of  our  salvation  that  we  merely  strive  to  hold  our 
own,  that  we  keep  within  internal  lines  and  defend  our 
frontiers.  The  heathen  are  his  covenanted  inheritance, 
and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  his  promised  posses- 
sion. We  must  conquer  and  retake  a rebel  tvorld  for  him ; 
we  must  surround  and  blockade,  as  with  a wall  of  fire,  all 
the  enemy’s  coasts;  we  must  lay  siege  to  all  his  strong- 
holds, though  protected  by  walls  of  granite  heaven-high; 
avc  must  fall  upon  and  route  all  his  marshaled  hosts, 
though  myriad  strong,  upon  their  own  chosen  battle- 
field. And  to  do  all  this,  what  is  a handful  of  sixteen 
hundred  men  ? Must  they  not  be  as  men  beating  the  air  ? 

We  have  lately  seen  what  a nation  in  earnest  can 
do  in  furnishing  thousands  of  men  and  millions  of  money 
in  an  earthly  contest.  0 that  the  church  were  thus  in 
earnest ! 0 that  men  could  be  thus  mustered  into  the 

Redeemer’s  service ! 0 that  treasure  and  blood  could 

thus  be  poured  out  for  Him ! When,  six  years  ago,  the 
Spirit  of  God,  like  a rushing  mighty  wind,  swept 
over  this  land,  we  in  the  foreign  field  said,  this  will 
send  hundreds  of  soldiers  of  the  cross  to  our  aid,  and 
thousands  of  gold  into  the  Lord’s  treasury ; but  we  were 
mistaken.  Perhaps  it  was  not  the  Lord’s  will  that  it 
should  be  so,  that  he  would  then  prepare  a people  for 
the  present  crisis  and  day  of  trial.  Be  it  so  ; but  even 
on  this  supposition  that  will  was  not  revealed.  It  was 
one  of  those  secret  things  which  belong  to  the  Lord  our 
God,  while  his  revealed  will  was,  and  is,  that  we  should 
disciple  all  nations.  Now  at  least  it  may  be  said,  that 
there  is  work  enough  for  these  men  at  home.  There  is 
work  enough,  and  as  I revisit  these  scenes,  so  endeared 

2 


14 


by  past  associations  and  enshrined  in  affection’s  inmost 
heart,  and  see  on  every  side  abounding  iniquity  and  the 
love  of  many  waxing  cold,  I feel  it,  Oh  how  deeply! 
and  I would  here  close  my  plea  for  the  foreign  field, 
could  I believe  that  this  would  at  all  carry  us  safely 
through  the  present  crisis,  and  stay  this  all-engulfing 
flood  of  demoralization  and  crime.  But  I cannot  believe 
it.  True,  there  is  work  enough  at  home,  but  is  it  being 
done?  Will  it  be  done,  except  by  a church  which  has 
come  up  to  a sense  of  her  duty  to  the  world?  “This 
should  be  done,  and  that  should  not  be  left  undone.” 
There  are  men,  Christian  men  enough  to  do  this  and 
that,  and  there  are  means  enough  in  the  church,  means 
now  squandered  in  folly  and  vanity,  in  lust  and  luxury. 
But  it  is  said  we  cannot  command  these  men  and  means, 
tve  must  work  with  the  material  at  hand.  Have  they 
been  claimed  in  the  name  of  God  and  for  him  ? And 
is  it  necessary  that  the  available  material  be  so  exclu- 
sively consumed  at  home?  Whd  would  have  thought 
three  years  ago  that  a million  and  a half  of  young  and 
able-bodied  men  of  the  country,  and  hundreds  of  millions 
of  capita],  could  have  been  taken  from  our  farms  and 
Workshops,  and  yet  all  go  on  as  we  see  at  present, 
almost  as  if  nothing  had  happened?  And  who  docs  not 
now  say  that,  if  necessary,  the  country  can  stand  this 
drain  yet  for  years  ? And  thus  too  would  it  be  with  the 
church,  were  she  thus  to  enter  upon  her  great  wariare. 
And  all  these  men  and  means  are  needed  at  home,  are 
they  ? or  at  least  will  not  go  abroad  ? And  what  if  God 
should  continue  dashing  against  each  other  the  conflicting 
elements,  not  only  South  but  North,  of  which  this  great 
Union  is  composed,  this  great  Babylon,  which  the  vapor- 
ing crowds  say  our  hands  have  made  for  the  house  of  our 
kingdom  and  our  hands  shall  restore,  until  chaos  and 
ancient  night  come  back  again,  these  fair  fields  be  deso- 
lated, these  cities  in  ruins,  and  God  s people  scattered 
abroad  everywhere  to  preach  the  word  ? All  this  came 
Upon  the  King  Nebuchadnezzar,  lie  was  driven  from 


15 


men  and  did  eat  grass  as  oxen,  ‘ until  seven  ti'nes  passed 
over  him,  and  he  knew  and  confessed  tl  at  t ie  Most 
High  ruleth  in  the  kingdom  of  men,  and  g ve  h it  to 
whomsoever  he  will,’  that  all  his  works  are  truth  and 
his  ways  judgment,  and  those  that  walk  in  pride  he  is 
able  to  abase.’’  Thus,  too,  he  scattered  at  the  persecu- 
tion  of  Stephen  the  first  Christians,  who  wished  to  settle 
down  at  ease  at  Jerusalem.  Perhaps  we  should  then  see 
that  the  kingdom  is  the  Lord’s,  and  that  he  giveth  it  to 
whomsoever  he  will;  and  in  a more  sober,  subdued 
and  chastened  spirit,  set  about  the  upbuilding  of  that 
kingdom  whieu  hath  no  end  and  is  over  all.  All  these 
men  needed  at  home ! ! Were  not  Paul  and  Barnabas 
needed  at  Antioch?  They  had  there  several  prophets 
and  teachers,  but  they  had  not  a superabundance,  for 
there  was  a great  work  to  be  done,  a large,  newly- 
gathered  church  to  be  built  up  in  the  faith,  and  a vast 
surrounding  population  yet  to  bt?  brought  into  the  fold 
of  Christ  (see  Acts  11  : 20-2G).  But  they  had  more 
than  their  share,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  said,  “ Separate 
unto  me  Paul  and  Barnabas  for  the  work  whereunto  I 
have  called  them.” 

But  we  will  suppose  the  men  enlisted,  and  pass  on  to 
consider,  next, 

The  Preparatory  Training,  First.  The  mastery 
of  the  language.  As  has  already  been  hinted,  this  is  a 
much  more  formidable  work,  and  more  men  partially  or 
wholly  fail  in  it,  than  is  imagined  at  home.  We  have 
heard  of  some  who  have  not  even  seriously  attempted  it. 
They  have  fought  with  a scabbarded  sword  in  attempting 
to  preach  through  an  interpreter;  or  they  have  spent 
their  time  and  strength  in  teaching  the  natives  English, 
that  is,  in  drillincr  soldiers  for  Satan’s  white  recruiting 
agents.  This  work  must,  for  the  most  part,  be  performed 
on  the  field.  The  elements  might  be  mastered  at  home, 
but  a man  must  live,  move  and  breathe  in  the  atmos- 
phere of  a foreign  language,  in  order  thoroughly  to 
acquire  it.  He  must  be  content  to  suffer  his  carefully 


16 


selected  library  from  home  to  rust  and  mould  on  its 
shelves,  while  he  forces  all  his  waking  thoughts  and 
dreams  by  night  to  flow  into  the  new  channel.  It 
should  be  begun  as  early  as  possible,  while  the  organs 
are  yet  pliable  and  the  mind  elastic.  It  is  a pity  that 
some  arrangement  could  not  be  made  by  which  this  work 
could  be  performed  before  the  age  of  twelve  or  fifteen. 
This  is  the  age  at  which  language  is  readily  acquired, 
and  philosophy  and  mathematics  should  be  left  for  the 
maturer  mind.  But,  with  present  arrangements,  this 
cannot  be,  except  in  the  case  of  missionaries’  children, 
and  they  are  usually  surrounded  by  such  debilitating 
influences,  both  to  body  and  mind,  that  bv  this  time 
they  are  often  unfitted  for  the  work.  They  should 
be  made  the  subjects  of  the  earnest  prayers  and  special 
care  of  the  church,  and  then  we  might  have  more  Scud- 
der  families,  in  which  seven  sons  have  so  nobly  trodden 
in  their  father’s  footsteps. 

But  the  language  is  not  all.  The  missionary  must 
make  himself  thoroughly  acquainted  with  all  the  cus- 
toms, superstitions,  ceremonies,  feelings,  motives,  hopes 
and  fears  of  the  people  to  whom  he  goes.  Otherwise  he 
can  only  draw  his  bow  at  a venture,  and  he  must  be  as 
one  that  beateth  the  air.  I shall  never  forget  the  say- 
ing of  that  veteran  in  Eastern  service,  the  lamented  Dr. 
Eli  Smith,  when  on  landing  at  Beirut,  nearly  thirteen 
years  ago,  I expressed  to  him  the  earnest  desire  that  I 
could  then  speak  the  Arabic  so  as  at  once  to  begin  the 
work,  he  answered,  “Then  you  would  probably  do  more 
harm  than  good;  there  are  many  things  to  be  learned 
besides  Arabic;”  and  I can  now  testify  that  he  was 
right.  This  knowledge  must,  for  the  most  part,  be 
acquired  on  the  ground,  and  it  must  be  the  result  of 
years  of  careful  study  and  keen  observation.  Still, 
much  more  might  be  done  than  at  present,  to  prepare 
men  for  foreign  work.  This  division  of  the  church  at 
home  into  sects  should  not  be,  and  is  not,  unless  the 
“esprit  du  corps”  degenerates  into  sectarianism,  an 


17 


unmixed  evil.  This  division  ol'  the  church  into  corps  at 
homo,  should  secure  the  sending  out  of  missionaries  in 
regiments  and  brigades.  Each  church  should  select  its 
field,  and  then  strive  thoroughly  to  occupy  it,  instead  of 
scattering  its  men  like  mere  skirmishers,  over  the  whole 
field  of  battle,  and  then  leaving  each  man,  as  it  were,  to 
fight  on  his  own  hook.  Many  good  results  would  flow 
from  such  a course.  The  one  to  which  I now  wish  to 
call  attention  is,  that  thus,  in  many  cases,  special 
attention  could  be  given  to  the  partial  training  of  men 
in  this  country.  For  example,  the  strongest  missions 
of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  are  in  Arabdom,  in 
Egypt  and  Syria.  Suppose  all  her  missionaries  should 
be  sent  to  the  Arabic-speaking  population  of  the  world 
(and  this  population,  estimated  at  one  hundred  millions, 
furnishes  ample  field  for  the  ambition  of  our  church); 
suppose  our  church,  in  order  to  fill  up  her  full  comple- 
ment of  luen,  supply  the  places  of  those  who  fall  on  the 
field  or  are  disabled,  and  to  meet  the  demands  of  a con- 
stantly-increasing work,  should  determine  to  draft  and 
send  out  annually  two  men  (surely  this  could  and  should 
be  done).  This  would  require  eight  men  constantly  in 
the  theological  seminary  preparing  for  this  work,  and 
this  would  justify  the  importation  to  this  country  and 
the  employment  of  a native  Arabic  professor;  and  the 
training  he  would  be  able  to  give,  not  only  to  these 
young  men,  but  to  all  the  students  in  Arabic  and  oriental 
literature,  would  be  the  best  they  could  possibly  have, 
for  dead  Hebrew  cannot  be  properly  studied,  except 
through  the  living  Arabic;  and  thus  these  young  mis- 
sionaries would  be  able  to  take  their  place  in  the  field, 
with  at  least  one  year’s  advantage,  and  a great  outlay 
would  be  saved  to  the  church.  The  Arabic  field  pre- 
sents peculiar  inducements  to  such  a course ; but  • it 
might  be  adopted  with  advantage  in  other  fields.  In  the 
Arabic  field,  in  this  supposition,  I have  only  included 
Egypt  and  Syria,  but  from  the  above  point  of  view, 
India  should  also  be  included.  A large  portion  of  the 

2* 


18 


population  of  India  is  Mohammedan.  There  Moham- 
medanism can  be  attacked  with  pccu'iar  facility,  for  that 
chain  armor  of  burnished  steel,  the  civil  power,  in  which 
it  is  so  safely  encased  in  Turkey,  has  there  been  knocked 
off  from  its  weak  and  flabby  members,  and  all  bare  and 
quivering  it  stands  exposed  to  the  cleaving  blow  of 
the  sword  of  the  Spirit.  But  in  the  Koran,  God  is  rep- 
resented as  saying  to  Mohammed,  “We  have  sent  it 
(the  Koran)  down  to  thee  in  Arabic.”  Consequently  the 
Mohammedans  insist  that  no  attempt  should  be  made  to 
translate  it,  and  our  English  translation,  notwithstanding 
its  general  literal  faithfulness,  proves  that  the  book  can- 
not be  understood  or  appreciated  in  a foreign  dress,  and 
consequently  (and  because  their  learned  men  at  least 
understand  Arabic),  the  attack  upon  this  system  should 
there  be  sustained  by  a strong  Arabic  r<  serve,  and  that 
although  the  common  vernacular  may  be  Hindustani  or 
some  other  language.  We  have  long  felt  that  in  this 
point,  the  missionaries  in  India  have  failed. 

But  besides  this,  should  not  something  be  done  in  a 
different  direction?  We  have,  at  present,  in  our  theo- 
logical seminaries,  chairs  of  didactic,  polemic  and  pas- 
toral theology,  of  ancient  languages  and  scripture 
hermeneutics  and  church  history.  Should  there  not  be 
a missionary  professorate  ? All  this  training  is  called 
evangelical.  Should  there  not  be  more  of  the  evangel- 
istic ? Should  not  more  be  done  to  have  our  young  men 
posted  on  the  theory,  principles,  po  icy  and  history  of 
modern  missions  and  the  present  wants  of  the  world  ? 
Especially  so,  if  they  are  yet  to  be  left  to  decide  for 
themselves  the  question  of  personal  duty  ? And  will  it 
not  be  so  when  the  church  comes  up  to  a sense  of  her 
duty,  and  to  realize  that  the  great  work  to  which  she  is 
called  is  the  evangelization  of  the  world.  Then  will 
our  theological  students  be  in  truth  cadets  training  for 
the  warfare  in  which  they  are  to  engage,  buckling  on 
the  aiinor  which  they  are  to  wear,  practicing  with  the 
weapons  which  they  are  to  wield ; and  when  they  go 
forth  they  will  not  be  as  men  beating  the  air. 


n» 


1 now  come  to  the  actual  service , and  here  I shall 
change  mood  and  tense,  and  instead  of  speaking  of  what 
should  be  done,  shall  briefly  describe  what  has  been  done 
in  the  special  field  from  which  I come. 

That  you  may  understand  the  battle,  you  must  know 
something  of  the  position  and  numbers  of  the  opposing 
forces.  The  great  mass  of  the  population  of  Egypt 
(about  four  millions)  is  Mohammedan,  and  Mohammedans 
are  the  sworn  and  bitter  enemies  of  Christianity.  It  is 
believed  by  many  that  the  Mohammedan  system  is  worn 
out  and  effete,  that  it  has  renounced  its  old  intolerant  per- 
secuting principles,  and  that  its  adherents  are  ready  in 
mulitudes  to  embrace  the  Gospel.  All  this  is  xot  true. 
Mohammedanism  cannot  become  effete  until  supplanted 
by  a living  Christianity.  It  is  a system  which  lays  too 
strong  a hold  upon  the  passions  and  pride  and  lusts  of  fall- 
en humanity,  to  be  dislodged  by  anything  short  of  the 
regeneration  of  the  heart  into  which  it  has  found  a place. 
Mohammedanism  would  to-day  be  flourishing  and  ram- 
pant in  these  United  States,  had  not  your  intolerance 
(shall  I call  it?)  driven  it  to  Salt  Lake;  for  Mormonism 
is  Mohammedanism.  Joe  Smith,  the  prophet  of  the 
golden  plates  and  the  stone  spectacles,  soon  after  start- 
ing on  his  career  said,  “ I will  be  a second  Mohammed.”* 
What  Christian  sect,  be  it  as  pure  and  evangelical  and 
zealous  as  it  may,  could,  under  the  disabilities  and  per- 
secutions which  that  system  of  Mormonism  has  endured, 
have  made  such  inroads  as  it  has  made  upon  the  Chris- 
tian nations  of  Europe  and  America  ? Suppose  that 
system  to  be  established  here,  numbering  a hundred  to 
one  of  the  whole  population,  with  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment in  its  hands,  as  well  as  the  sword  of  proselytism 
and  persecution,  with  all  the  concomitants  so  well  fitted 
to  flatter  pride  and  pamper  lust,  and  withal  with  much 
more  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  earnest  religious  natures, 
and  what  could  dislodge  it,  thus  entrenched?  In  this 
supposition  you  have  the  statu  quo  of  Mohammedanism 
in  the  East.  Much  has  been  expected  from  the  advanc- 


20 

ing  march  of  civilization  and  modern  improvement,  and 
they  are  not  without  a certain  circumscribed  influence 
in  preparing  the  way  for  better  things.  Still,  it  is  a 
significant  fact  that  the  most  enlightened  Mohammedans, 
those  who  have  received  in  England  and  France  a liberal 
education,  are  almost  without  exception,  while  infidels  at 
heart  to  their  old  faith,  the  most  keen  of  all  to  observe 
the  immunities  and  privileges  which  that  faith  secures  to 
them  as  the  ruling  race,  the  most  tenacious  in  clinging 
to  it,  and  the  loudest  in  their  professions  of  the  unity 
and  apostleship.  This  view  presents  the  most  dark  and 
impracticable  side  of  this  frowning  stronghold  of  super- 
stition and  error.  The  other  side  presents  some  vulner- 
able and  hopeful  points  of  attack. 

1st.  The  native  Christians  of  Egypt  and  the  Muslims 
live  on  better  terms  of  friendship  there  than  anywhere 
else  in  the  Turkish  empire.  They  have  been  together 
crushed  to  the  earth  for  centuries  in  Egypt,  that  “ basest 
of  kingdoms,”  and  their  common  sufferings  have  begot- 
ten a common  sympathy  and  fellow-feeling,  and  a common 
longing  for  something  better,  for  some  great  deliverance  ; 
and  all  their  past  training,  as  well  as  the  deeply  religious 
bent  of  the  oriental  and  especially  the  Egyptian  mind, 
lead  them  to  look  for  it  in  the  direction  of  religious 
reform.  When  the  Coptic  Church  is  reformed,  purified 
from  its  idolatry  and  delivered  from  its  puerile  supersti- 
tions, it  will  form  a lever  which  will  take  a strong  hold 
upon  this  inert  mass.  It  will  powerfully  appeal  to 
thousands  of  earnest  Mohammedan  minds  not  now  satis- 
fied with  the  pure  deism  of  that  system,  and  longing  for 
a purer  prophet  and  more  potent  mediator  than  Moham- 
med, one  who  can  put  away  sin. 

2d.  The  traditionary  policy  of  the  house  of  Moham- 
med Ali,  the  reigning  dynasty,  has  been  to  encourage 
Frank  innovation  and  to  break  down  the  old  bigotry. 
The  last  viceroy  went  farther  and  dared  more  in  this 
than  even  his  Christian  and  Protestant  advisers  could 
consider  safe.  By  his  decided  and  often  harsh  measures 


in  crushing  all  uprisings  of  the  old  spirit  of  Islam,  he 
often  endangered  his  life  and  his  throne. 

3d.  We,  the  missionaries,  by  our  position  as  educators 
of  the  people  in  a land  which  is  just  awaking  to  a sense 
of  the  value  of  education — by  our  political  influence, 
protected  and  backed  as  we  have  been  by  our  American 
Consul  General,  especially  by  the  speedy  justice  and 
heavy  retribution  which  we  were  enabled  to  obtain  in 
the  case  of  Faris,  one  of  our  native  agents,  who  was 
almost  killed  by  a Muslim  mob  acting  on  the  judgment 
and  by  the  instigation  of  the  Muslim  authorities,  and  by 
the  manifest  patronage  of  the  highest  authority  in  the 
land,  in  the  gift  to  us  by  the  viceroy,  of  a splendid 
house  for  mission  purposes,  and  other  smaller  favors ; by 
these  things  and  such  as  these,  we  have  obtained  a power 
in  the  land  which,  among  a people  who  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  regard  might  as  right,  is  most  noble.  Under 
the  aegis  of  the  stars  and  stripes,  which  we  always  unfurl 
from  the  mast  of  our  Nile  boat  on  our  missionary  tours, 
we  are  enabled  to  speak  boldly  to  Muslims  everywhere 
the  truth  of  the  Gospel,  and  to  controvert  the  claims  of 
Mohammed,  which  we  could  never  do  in  Syria.  Often 
we  meet  with  most  interested  hearers,  who,  when  they 
are  taught  as  we  hold  them,  the  doctrines  of  the  Trinity, 
the  divinity  and  sonship  of  Christ,  and  the  atonement, 
exclaim  delighted,  “ Is  this  the  religion  of  Seyedha  Aesa, 
our  Lord  or  Master  Jesus?  (for  they  also  admit  his  apos- 
tleship,)  we  never  thus  understood  it.”  Many  also  are 
reading  the  Bible  and  our  religious  books ; several  have 
given  evidence  of  a personal  interest  in  the  Saviour,  and 
with  boldness  proclaim  their  belief  in  the  gospel,  though 
they  cannot  yet  profess  their  faith  by  openly  uniting 
with  the  church.  Among  these  are  the  native  teachers 
of  our  school  in  Alexandria,  who  daily  and  with  zest 
and  intelligence  .teach  their  pupils  the  way  of  life.  Thus 
we  have  here  and  there  breached  the  walls;  sharp  skir- 
mishes are  daily  occurring  under  them  between  small 
parties  sent  out  from  the  belligerent  camps,  and  soon 


22 


must  come  the  storming  of  the  fortress  and  the  hand-to- 
hand  struggle  with  the  cold  steel;  and  be  assured  (I 
speak  not  now  figuratively,  but  literally,)  there  will  then 
be  bloody  work. 

Passing  on  to  the  other  classes  of  the  population,  we 
have  in  Alexandria  and  Cairo  large  Frank  colonies. 
These  for  the  most  part  are  composed  of  the  off-scourings 
of  Southern  Europe,  men  who  have  left  their  country 
for  their  country’s  good.  I need  hardly  say,  that  ex- 
cept in  individual  cases,  we  have  not  had  much  success 
in  laboring  for  them,  and  their  general  influence  on  the 
natives  is  bad.  They  have  brought  demoralization  and 
vice  into  the  camps.  I am  sorry  to  add,  that  even  our 
Protestant  residents  from  England  and  Scotland  have 
shown,  that  although  their  piety  might  have  passed  mus- 
ter and  stood  upright  while  shouldered  up  by  the  ranks 
of  the  Christian  churches  at  home,  it  lacks  the  needful 
stamina  in  that  debilitating  climate,  and  they  have  turned 
out  renegades  and  deserters.  There  are  some  bright 
exceptions,  and  nobly  have  they  stood  by  us  in  the  battle. 

2d.  The  Jews.  “Blindness  hath  happened  unto 
Israel.”  They  are  the  most  impracticable  of  all  the 
classes  with  which  we  have  to  deal.  The  native  Jews 
are  strict  and  bigoted  Talmudists.  Many  of  the  Frank 
Jews  are  infidels,  and  ,we  may  hope  their  infidelity  to 
their  superstitions  may,  as  we  have  often  found  to  be 
the  case  with  the  superstitious  Eastern  Christians,  bo 
the  bridge  from  superstition  to  faith.  Formerly,  they 
sent  many  of  their  children  to  our  schools  in  Alexandria, 
and  thus  much  precious  seed  was  sown,  as  well  as  in  the 
distribution  among  them  of  many  Bibles.  But  hitherto 
we  have  waited  in  vain  for  fruits  or  any  other  result 
than  the  awakening  of  a deep  interest  in  Christianity 
in  the  minds  of  some  of  the  children,  which  has  thor- 
oughly aroused  the  fears  of  the  parents,  and  led  them, 
at  great  expense,  to  establish  schools  of  their  own. 

All  this  is  dark  enough;  but  now  we  come  to  the  last 
class  of  the  population,  concerning  whom  and  the  bright 


23 


pledges  and  prospects  of  a glorious  success  among  thcni) 

I have  little  hope  of  conveying  to  you  an  adequate  idea 
in  the  short  space  of  time  left  me — (he  Copts. 

The  Copt 8 are  the  remnants  still  left  of  the  ancient 
Egyptians,  that  noble  rate  that  gave  birth  to  the  arts 
and  sciences,  and  built  the  pyramids,  and  temples  and 
tombs,  which  are  to  this  day  the  wonders  of  the  world. 
Though  they  seldom'  boast  of  this  their  noble  descent, 
they  oftener  say,  in  their  self-degradation,  We  are  the 
race  of  rebellious,  hard-hearted  Pharaoh.  Still  this 
parentage  is  undoubted.  The  old  Egyptian,  corrupted 
with  Greek,  is  their  sacred  church  language,  and  their 
physiognomy  is  after  the  stereotype  model  which  to  this 
day  remains  on  their  sculptured  temple  walls.  Their 
present  number  is  between  two  hundred  and  three  hun- 
dred thousand.  The  Coptic  Church  is  the  successor  of 
the  church  of  Athanasius,  and  Cyril  and  the  Martyrs, 
and  claims  the  Evangelist  Mark  as  its  founder.  It  ad- 
heres to  the  three  first  councils.  At  the  council  of  Chal- 
cedon,  it  separated  from  the  Greek  Church,  on  the 
monophysite  controversy,  which  is  still  between  Copts 
and  Greeks  a living  one.  In  political  and  social  position, 
it  is  the  most  degraded  of  the  Eastern  Christian  sects. 
As  to  intelligence,  however,  it  compares  favorably  with 
them,  as  well  as  with  their  proud  rulers,  the  Muslims. 
The  latter  usually  address  a Copt  as  “muallem” 
(teacher).  They  are  the  hereditary  accountants  and 
scribes  of  the  government  and  nation,  and  in  this  de- 
partment they  have  few  superiors  in  any  land. 

In  religion,  the)  have  most  of  the  errors  of  the  Ro- 
mish Church.  Indeed,  more  of  those  errors,  as  well  as 
the  ancient  Greek  and  Roman  mythology,  than  is  usually 
imagined,  have  their  rise  in  Egypt.  But  the  Coptic 
Church  has  not  run  to  the  same  excess  of  riot  as  the 
mother  of  harlots,  in  perfecting  her  master-piece  of 
iniquity.  A married  priesthood,  retaining  their  sympa- 
thies and  associations  with  the  laity,  and  an  open  Bible, 
have  kept  the  Coptic  Church  nearer  the  truth.  They 


24 


are  a people  of  earnest  convictions  and  deep  religious 
feelings.  We  do  not  find  generally  among  them  the 
infidelity  of  the  Catholic,  nor  the  flippancy  of  the  Greek. 

The  manner  in  which  they  have  endured  for  twelve  cen- 
turies the  high-handed  persecutions  of  the  Muslims,  and 
withstood  the  wiles  and  machinations  of  the  emissaries 
of  Rome,  merits  all  praise,  as  it  attests  their  fortitude 
and  deep  earnestness.  Their  superstitions  are  a heavy, 
unendurable  yoke.  Their  prayers  and  public  services 
are  long  and  tedious,  and  mostly  performed  in  the  dead 
Coptic  language.  Their  fasts  are  most  strict  and  aus- 
tere, and  extend  over  seven  months  of  the  year.  They 
pay  tithes  of  all  they  possess,  besides  many  other  heavy 
pecuniary  burdens. 

This  'people  is  awaking  from  the  sleep  of  ages.  It  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  this  whole  church  is  undergoing 
a great  and  glorious  reformation.  This  people  is  scat- 
tered all  along  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  in  the  numerous 
villages  which  dot  that  fertile  vale.  In  most  of  these 
villages  a Protestant  nucleus,  larger  or  smaller,  is  now 
to  be  found.  Most  of  these  are  not  yet  in  any  formal 
connection  with  us.  Indeed,  we  have  not  sought  to 
precipitate  an  exodus  from  the  Coptic  Church.  The 
young  plants  of  Protestantism  have  been  suffered  to 
remain  in  their  native  soil,  until  they  obtain  strength 
and  stamina  to  bear  transplanting,  and  the  shock  and 
storm  of  persecution  which  they  must  then  endure.  The 
leaven  has  been  left  for  a while  in  the  lump,  where  it 
comes  into  closer  and  more  intimate  contact  with  the  , 
mass  to  be  leavened.  Thus,  too,  we  have  avoided  the 
charge  and  imputation  of  being  proselvters,  who  have 
come  to  their  land  with  selfish  intent,  to  establish  a sect 
of  our  own ; and  this  adds  much  to  our  moral  power. 
Thus,  while,  as  has  been  said,  much  of  this  new  move- 
ment has  not  yet  any  formal  ecclesiastical  connection 
with  us,  we  are  everywhere  welcomed  as  friends  and 
teachers,  and  gladly  heard;  and  tvhere  we  have  not  been 
able  to  go,  our  Bibles  and  books  have  gone,  and  done 


25 


their  work.  Picture-worship  is  being  very  generally 
abandoned.  In  several  churches,  without  any  personal 
influence  from  us,  priests  and  people  have  met,  and  by 
common  consent,  removed  the  pictures  from  the  churches. 
The  fasts  are  being  more  and  more  generally  disregarded, 
the  confessional  forsaken,  and  the  priestly  authority, 
when  attempted  to  be  enforced,  renounced.  The  Bible 
is  everywhere  acknowledged  the  standard  of  appeal  in 
controversy,  and  what  is  better  than  all  mere  contro- 
versy or  lopping  off  of  errors,  spiritual  religion  is  being 
revived,  and  our  most  devotional  and  evangelical  books 
are  much  sought  after.  Many  of  the  priests  are  obedient 
unto  the  faith,  and  we  have  now  two  of  them  in  connec- 
tion with  us  who  are  able  evangelical  preachers,  and 
others  are  preparing  for  the  work. 

Thus  I have  described  in  brief  the  numbers  and  posi- 
tion of  our  enemies.  It  remains  to  give  some  statistics, 
showing  the  number  and  disposition  of  our  forces.  When 
all  on  the  field,  we  are  six  male  missionaries  with  their 
families,  and  three  single  female  teachers,  who  have 
charge  of  our  three  female  schools.  We  have  in  all  six 
schools,  in  which,  during  the  latter  half  of  the  last  year, 
the  average  daily  attendance  was  two  hundred  and  ten 
boys  and  two  hundred  and  thirty  girls.  We  might  have 
many  more  schools,  had  we  the  means  to  support  them 
and  the  trained  teachers  to  conduct  them.  Our  main 
stations  or  bases  of  operation  are  Alexandria  and  Cairo; 
but  three  years  ago  we  purchased  a Nile  boat,  with  which 
we  have  since  made  two  or  three  annual  trips,  as  far  as 
the  Cataracts,  about  seven  hundred  miles  up  the  Nile, 
preaching  and  selling  books  from  village  to  village.  We 
have  now  a second  smaller  boat,  which  is  to  be  con- 
stantly engaged  in  this  work.  The  sales  of  Bibles 
and  religious  books  for  1862,  was  five  thousand  five 
hundred  and  sixteen  volumes,  for  which  we  received 
one  thousand  one  hundred  and  ninety-one  dollars. 
In  the  Nile  boat,  we  have  besides  sold,  in  three 
years,  over  five  thousand  volumes,  for  one  thousand  two 


26 


hundred  and  fifty -seven  dollars.  We  have  forty-five 
native  church  members,  of  whom  twenty  four  were  re- 
ceived last  year,  and  thirty-two  native  agents.  These 
work  for  us  (or  rather,  they  have  been  taught  to  feel  that 
they  work  for  the  Lord),  at  the  low  average  rate  of  about 
five  dollars  per  month.  This  is  not  a remuneration  for 
their  services,  for  most  of  them  could  make  much  more 
at  other  businesses;  but  when  they  are  found  unwilling  to 
make  sacrifices  for  the  Lord,  they  are  suff’ei*ed  to  leave. 
It  supports  them  on  bread  and  water,  while  in  and  by 
the  work  they  are  being  trained  for  the  work  in  more 
extended  fields  of  effort.  And  here  is  wisdom,  and  “he 
that  hath  ears  to  hear  let  him  hear.”  This,  in  which  we 
are  engaged,  is  a warfare,  and  war  has  its  tactics  and 
its  policy,  and  these  change  with  the  progress  of  time. 
Anciently,  as  in  the  days  of  Goliah  of  Gath,  and  David 
and  his  mighty  men,  and  to  this  day,  among  the  wild 
Arabs  of  the  desert,  and  among  their  ancestors,  the 
heroes  of  the  thousand  and  one  nights,  much  depended 
upon  the  personal  prowess  and  heroism  of  the  leaders 
and  champions  of  the  respective  armies.  The  Greek 
phalanx  and  Roman  legion  introduced  a new  era  into 
the  tactics  of  European  warfare,  and  it  long  held  its 
place.  In  modern  times,  the  long  gun  to  breach  the 
works  and  the  cold  steel  to  take  them,  are  in  vogue. 

Now,  too,  it  must  be  noticed  that  every  country  and 
every  place  has  its  key.  Cronstadt  and  Sebastopol  were 
the  keys  of  Russia  in  the  Turkish  war,  and  to  them  the 
allies  hastened.  The  Malakof  was  the  key  of  Sebasto- 
pol, and  it  was  in  vain  that  the  allies  spent  months  of 
random  firing  before  its  walls  and  awful  sufferings  in  the 
trenches,  until  one  of  the  English  commanders,  pointing 
to  the  Malakof,  said,  “There  is  the  key  of  the  place.” 
It  was  taken,  though  with  terriblo  carnage,  and  Sebas- 
topol fell.  In  the  Italian  war,  the  famous  “ quadrangle ” 
was  evidently  considered  the  key  of  Austria’s  possessions 
in  Italy,  and  in  the  battle  of  Solferino  the  eminence 
known  as  La  Spia  d’ltalia  (the  spy  of  Italy,)  was  the 


27 


key  of  that  awful  battle-field.  New  Orleans  was  the 
key  of  the  whole  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  It  was 
hardly  fought  for.  By  a quick  and  bold  movement  it 
was  wrenched  from  the  grasp  of  the  enemy,  and  after 
that  it  might  be  a question  of  time,  but  Vicksburg,  Port 
Hudson,  and  all  other  strongholds  on  that  river,  must 
fall.  Yes,  and  I believe  that  this  great  rebellion  has  its 
key.  At  its  inauguration,  its  authors  proclaimed  that 
slavery  was  the  corner-stone  of  their  confederacy.  It 
was  so,  and  more,  it  was  and  has  been  their  citadel  and 
stronghold.  I mean  not  this  in  the  restricted  sense  of 
negro  slavery  as  obtaining  among  them,  for  it,  in  this 
point  of  view,  must  be  regarded,  not  only  as  an  institu- 
tion for  breeding,  rearing  and  training  human-  chattels, 
for  which  this  Western  Continent  must  (as  they  would 
have  it)  be  the  market,  but  as  a great  training  school  for 
rearing  and  training  despots  and  tyrants,  who,  not  con- 
tent with  the  narrow  domain  and  petty  tyranny  of  the 
cotton  plantation,  must  step  up  to  the  higher  arena  of 
politics,  and  make  this  great  republic  their  political 
plantation  and  its  men  and  women  their  willing  slaves. 
When  Lincoln  was  elected,  this  spell  was  broken,  the 
yoke  was  snapped  under  which  we  were  held  as  their 
political  vassals,  and  they  rose  in  rebellion  against  the 
best  government  in  the  world.  Then  they  put  forward 
negro  slavery  as  a watchword,  by  which  they  thought  to 
cement  their  ill-starred  confederacy  and  unite  the  cotton 
and  border  States.  So  slavery  is  their  bond  of  union, 
as  it  first  begat  and  fostered  the  spirit  which  is  the  ani- 
mus of  the  rebellion,  and  it  has  secured  their  base  and 
furnished  the  sinews  of  war,  and  here,  as  a pure  war 
measure,  bur  united  and  heaviest  blows  should  have  been 
struck ; and,  as  a consequence,  Butler  found  the  key, 
when  at  Fortress  Monroe  he  invented  the  term  contra- 
band ; Fremont  grasped  it,  but  presumptuously,  and 
was  forced  again  to  drop  it;  Hunter,  too,  pointed  at  it, 
and  finally,  Lincoln  took  it  up,  and,  as  appears  from  his 
last  manifesto,  still  holds  it,  but  with  too  trembling  and 


28 


nervous  a grasp;  while  Democrats  and  Republicans, 
border  and  New  England  States,  are  pulling  and  tugging 
at  it,  hither  and  thither,  and  the  fear  now  is,  that  in  less 
than  a year’s  time  it  will  be  sold — exchanged  for  the 
bauble  of  a four  year’s  crown.* 

But  I am  laying  my  foundations  too  broad.  What  I 
would  come  to  is,  that  in  the  spiritual  warfare  in  which 
we  are  engaged,  there  is  also  a key  of  the  position.  And 
if  asked  what  is  the  key  of  Egypt  in  our  spiritual  war- 
fare, I answer,  the  securing  of  an  intelligent,  well-dis- 
ciplined,  pious  native  agency.  The  work  in  which  we 
are  engaged  is  a great  work.  Our  predecessors  have 
left  it  unfinished— hardly  begun.  We  cannot  expect  to 
accomplish  it,  nor  can  our  successors.  The  work  may 
be  initiated  by  us,  but  it  must  be  carried  on  to  comple- 
tion by  natives.  Foreigners  may  general,  but  natives 
must  fight,  the  battle.  We  labor  under  too  many  dis- 
qualifications and  difficulties.  We  are  strangers  in  a 
strange  land.  The  people,  their  language,  customs, 
modes  of  thought,  everything,  is  strange.  They  are  in 
a state  of  degradation  which  few  can  realize  until  they 
become  eye-witnesses.  Many  foreign  missionaries  who 
are  sent  out  should  never  have  been  sent.  They  of  the 
church  mistook  their  calling.  Some  after  a short  trial 
give  up  in  despair  and  go  home.  Others  settle  down 
and  plod  along,  but  never  do  anything  effectually.  Others 
of  the  more  romantic  sort  go  out  with  extravagant  no- 
tions, which  are  soon  dashed  to  the  earth — they  work  for 
a time  with  a zeal  partaking  of  desperation,  and  then 
break  down  and  go  home.  Meanwhile,  the  churches  at 
home  are  most  impatient  of  results.  They  must  have 
them  or  the  interest  soon  flags,  the  supplies  arc  with- 
held and  the  missionaries  withdrawn,  to  be  succeeded 
by  others,  who  in  turn  attempt  experiment,  grow  weary, 

* This  was  written  several  months  ago.  The  “logic  of  facts  and 
the  irresistable  current  of  popular  feeling”  have  since  convinced  the 
politicians  that  this  is  the  key  which  is  also  to  open  the  “ White 
House”  to  its  next  occupant. 


29 


and  give  place  to  others.  If  the  history  of  modern  evan- 
gelical missions  in  Egypt  and  many  other  places,  for 
the  last  forty  years,  were  written,  the  foregoing  would 
be  found  a true  epitome.  What  has  been  done  as  well 
as  what  should  now  be  done,  is  well  set  forth  to  us -by 
the  military  tactics  of  that  country.  Former  viceroys 
spent  millions  of  money  in  fortifying  Alexandria.  Walls, 
moats,  dikes,  towers  and  forts  are  scattered  around  the 
toAvn,  as  if  made  at  random,  without  purpose  or  plan. 
Many  of  the  most  salient  points  are  left  unprotected. 
The  government  granaries  are  outside  the  walls  of  the 
town,  and  fifty  men  landing  a few  miles  above  the  city, 
could  in  an  hour  let  out  the  water  from  the  Mahmudiyeh 
canal,  and  the  city  would  have  no  supply  except  the  lim- 
ited one  in  her  tanks.  When  that  great  European  “ bal- 
ance of  power,”  of  which  the  extremes  are  now  Russia 
and  America,  and  the  supporting  fulcrum  the  “ entente 
cordiale”  (?)  of  France  and  England,  becomes  again  dis- 
turbed ; when  these  two  nations,  no  longer  forced  by 
external  pressure  to  act  together,  return  again  to  their 
hereditary  and  natural  antagonism,  then  their  fleets  will 
have  a race  for  Alexandria,  and  he  who  first  arrives  will 
lazily  take  it,  but  he  will  not  have  grasped  the  key  of 
Egypt,  but  of  India.  The  former  is  now  being  made  at 
the  Buraj,  about  ten  miles  above  Cairo  on  the  point  of 
the  Delta.  Thousands  of  men  have  there  been  at  work  for 
years,  building  forts,  mills,  aqueducts,  granaries,  &c.  Let 
war  come,  and  the  Pasha  of  Egypt  retire  there  with  his 
fine  army,  and  it  will  take  a first-rate  power  to  dislodge 
him.  He  will  be  “master  of  the  position.”  He  will 
command  the  two  branches  of  the  Nile,  and  no  ships 
capable  of  reaching  his  works  will  be  able  to  reach  him 
by  either.  He  will  have  ample  stores  of  grain,  and  the 
supply  of  water  cannot  be  cut  off.  A besieging  army 
would  be  exposed  to  terrible  hardships  on  the  plains  of 
Egypt,  now  burning  under  a tropical  sun,  now  flooded 
by  the  Nile  ; from  such  a centre  he  could  constantly  and 
most  effectively  make  excursions  to  the  right  and  left 
3* 


30 


upon  the  enemy.  Egypt  can  never  be  considered  con- 
quered until  that  stronghold  is  taken. 

Now  such  has  been  the  missionary  position  in  Egypt. 
The  Alexandrian  tactics  and  engineering  have  been  the 
rule  in  the  past,  but  now  the  mission  or  church  which  is 
to  succeed  in  putting  into  the  field,  and  properly  working 
the  agency  which  is  to  regenerate  Egypt,  is  the  one 
which  shall  have  the  wisdom  and  energy  to  storm  this 
Malakof,  to  take  this  stronghold,  and  fortify  this  Buraj 
of  an  educated  native  agency.  To  do  this,  good,  thorough 
training  schools  must  be  possessed,  and  we  have  them. 
Not  such  schools  as  are  often  dignified  with  the  title  of 
missionary  schools,  in  which  an  illiterate  and  perhaps 
unconverted  native  teaches  a company  of  urchins  the 
first  elements  of  an  education  and  can  take  them  no 
further,  nor  yet  schools  in  which  the  missionary  himself 
shall  spend  his  time  and  strength  in  qualifying  ambitious 
young  natives  with  languages  and  secular  science  for 
lucrative  commercial  or  civil  posts;  but  schools  into  which 
earnest  young  men  are  gathered,  who  are  willing  to  re- 
ceive such  a training  as  shall  specially  fit  them  for  the 
work  of  the  Lord,  and  in  which  the  missionary  shall  find 
it  worth  his  while  daily  to  labor  and  impress  upon  a 
company  of  choice  lads  the  image  and  superscription  of 
his  own  mind,  not  only  as  a scholar,  but  as  a missionary 
and  man  of  God.  Such  lads  in  goodly  number  we  now 
have  in  our  schools,  and  besides,  God  is  showing  us  that 
he  can  raise  up  adults  for  this  work.  It  has  been  the 
general  impression,  and  we  too  shared  it,  that  men 
brought  in  adult  life  from  the  ranks  of  heathenism  or 
dead  Christianity,  might  themselves  be  saved,  yet  so  as 
by  fire,  but  that  we  could  not  expect  to  recruit  from 
their  number  the  ranks  of  efficient  laborers  for  their 
brethren,  but  in  this  we  limited  the  Holy  One  of  Israel. 
He  has  raised  up  for  his  work  many  men , and  some  of 
them  men  who  had  a good  deal  of  mental  discipline  and 
training,  as  well  as  an  extensive  knowledge  of  the  letter 
of  the  Word,  and  these  men  are  rising  up  in  the  zeal  and 


31 


warmth  of  a first  and  only  love,  their  acquirements 
sanctified,  their  literal  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  em- 
bued  with  life  and  radiant  with  light;  they  are  asking 
with  an  earnestness  which  only  men  who  have  long  suf- 
fered under  that  galling  yoke  can  experience,  how  they 
may  deliver  their  brethren  from  that  yoke — what  it  is 
that  the  Lord  would  have  them  do.  Many  of  them  are 
priests,  the  most  intelligent  and  influential  of  the  Coptic 
Church,  and  they  bring  with  them  all  the  respect  and 
reverence  with  which  their  sacred  character  inspires  a 
superstitious  people. 

I have  two  other  points,  which  time  will  barely  allow 
me  to  propound  for  your  consideration. 

1st.  When  you  have  sent  forth  your  Pauls  and  Barna- 
bases  (and  as  has  been  said,  none  others  should  be  sent), 
then  trust  them  to  fight,  the  battle,  aye,  and  general  it 
too.  They  may  have  been  such  only  in  germ  when  sent 
out,  but  men  growr  in  the  foreign  field  as  well  as  at  home, 
and  when  they  have  spent  years  in  the  actual  service, 
they  require  an  experience  and  knowledge  of  the  field 
and  work,  and  the  way  to  do  it,  which  cannot  be  possess- 
ed by  men  at  home,  however  comprehensive  in  other  re- 
spects may  be  their  minds  and  far-reaching  their  views. 
An  industrious  and  observing  mole  in  Uranus  could  give 
Lord  John  Rosse,  with  his  long  telescope,  much  useful 
information  as  to  the  structure  and  properties  of  that 
distant  planet.  Missionaries  are  not  puppets,  who  can 
only  be  moved  by  wires  drawn  thousands  of  miles  away. 
Many  Mission  Boards  have  cultivated  far  too  assiduous- 
ly the  modern  science  called  the  science  of  missionary 
management.  One  chief  element  of  our  success  has 
been,  that  our  Board  has  trusted  her  missionaries,  and  for 
the  most  part  thrown  upon  them  the  responsibility  of 
movements  and  measures.  This  responsibility  (and  it  is 
often  a crushing  one,  causing  anxious  days  and  sleepless 
nights,)  we  would  shirk  and  throw  upon  others,  could  we 
do  so,  but  we  cannot ; our  duty  to  the  great  Captain  of 
our  salvation  forbids  it.  “Stonewall  Jackson”  was  a 


32 


great  general,  though  he  fought  in  an  evil  cause.  It  was 
not  an  altogether  vain  boast  which  his  friends  made  of 
him,  “ that  in  four  weeks  he  marched  three  hundred  and 
fifty  miles,  won  four  victories,  and  monopolized  for  the 
amusement  of  the  world  the  attention  of  six  distinguished 
generals.”  He  did  not  do  all  that  in  leading  strings  of 
red  tape,  and  he  expressed  all  we  wish  to  say  on  this 
point  in  his  laconic  dispatch,  “ Send  me  more  men  and 
no  orders,  or  more  orders  and  no  men.”  How  much 
have  we  learned  the  last  two  years,  and  how  much  more 
would  we  know  were  the  secret  history  of  this  war  writ- 
ten, of  the  disastrous  results  of  the  interference  of 
meddling,  selfish,  unmilitary  politicians,  and  how  sad 
would  now  be  the  state  and  prospects  of  the  country  did 
not  all  feel  that  whatever  may  have  been  his  mistakes 
or  shortcomings  we  have  still  one  man,  and  he  the  one 
whose  hand  is  on  the  helm,  who  is  more  than  a politi- 
cian— who  is  an  honest  man. 

Not  long  since,  in  looking  over  a missionary  periodical, 
I saw  a cut  and  description  of  a beautiful  mission  house 
in  the  adjoining  metropolis,  “three  stories  high,  costing 
$25,000,  with  a valuable  museum  containing  several 
hundreds  of  gods,  and  other  objects  of  interest  from 
missionary  countries,  and  a library  of  4,000  volumes, 
besides  1,000  volumes  more  of  Chinese  books  by  native 
authors” — (very  essential,  indeed,  if  the  meaning  of 
Chinese  works  is  to  be  decided  by  kmg  discussions  in  this 
country.)  This  is  what  is  said,  but  this  implies  much 
more — salaried  agents,  secretaries,  clerks,  servants,  &c., 
a large  portion  of  the  missionary  income  to  be  absorbed 
by  home  machinery — yes,  and  should  there  not  be,  as 
I lately  saw  in  the  War  Department  at  our  capital,  bundles 
of  telegraph  wires  going  in  at  the  windows,  and  stretch- 
ing out  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  the  walls  covered  with 
great  maps,  giving  in  its  length  and  breadth  the  world’s 
great  battle  field  in  all  its  minutiae  of  hill  and  vale, 
woodland  and  water,  and  with  desks  and  closets  filled 
with  docketed  and  numbered  and  red-tape-bound  mes- 


33 


sages  and  dispatches,  and  all  presided  over  by  the  cold, 
stiff,  formal  genius  of  bureauocracy — let  us  be  thankful 
to  God  that  our  church  has  not  hitherto  been  tempted 
to  indulge  in  such  luxuries,  while  the  world  is  perishing 
for  the  bread  of  life.  No;  a committee  of  pastors  in 
this  goodly  city  of  brotherly  love,  who  need  to  have  the 
ties  of  social  and  Christian  fellowship  strengthened  by 
an  occasional  meeting  in  a little  room  in  the  basement 
of  one  of  your  churches,  and  who  need  a great  soul- 
enlarging  subject  of  conference  ; a treasurer  who  is  not 
so  bound  to  the  chariot  of  King  Mammon,  that  he  cannot 
find  time  occasionally  to  cast  an  account  or  dispatch  a 
remittance  for  King  Jesus;  and  a secretary  who  has  the 
work  so  deeply  at  heart  as  to  be  willing  to  arise  long 
before  day,  to  attend  to  the  necessary  correspondence; 
this  is  all  of  machinery  that  we  have.  This  is  all  ive 
need. 

2d.  As  to  the  invalid  corps.  We  missionaries  are 
men,  with  all  the  frailties  and  liabilities  to  disease  and 
death,  of  other  men.  Pastors  at  home,  in  these  days  of 
hard  work,  and  high  pressure  and  abounding  nerve,  need 
their  “autumnal  furlough,”  and  we,  like  the  Jewish  land, 
need  our  seventh-year  Sabbath.  We  need  thus  often  at 
least,  to  be  called  back  from  the  front.  We  are  there 
in  the  van  and  forefront  of  the  Redeemer’s  host,  in  the 
midst  of  the  din  and  roar  of  battle,  with  its  wear  and 
tear  excitement  by  day,  its  marching  and  counter- 
marching on  the  double-quick,  and  by  night  the  toil  of 
the  spade  and  the  mattock ; and  we  need  thus  often  at 
least,  to  be  recalled  to  the  rear,  that  we  may  rest  awhile, 
and  then,  refreshed  and  quickened,  we  can  rush  forward 
again  under  fire  in  the  thickest  of  the  melee.  We  must 
bear  our  own  cumbrous  harness  and  rifled  guns,  and 
push  forward  our  heavy  ordnance,  under  a tropical  sun 
and  in  a climate  every  breath  of  which  is  malarious; 
and  we  need  occasionally  to  breathe  again  the  invigor- 
ating air  of  our  native  hills.  It  is  a cruel,  short-sighted 
policy,  and,  in  the  end,  wretched  economy,  to  suffer  mis- 


34 


sionaries  to  sacrifice  themselves  on  the  field,  when  a 
timely  visit  to  their  native  land  and  season  of  recreation 
might  have  saved  them  to  the  work  for  years.  All,  in 
general  terms,  will  agree  to  this,  and  yet  I do  not  think 
I misstate  when  I say,  that  most  men  prefer  not  to  hear 
of  missionaries  returning.  Probably  the  pecuniary  con- 
sideration is,  more  than  most  people  would  admit  even  to 
themselves,  at  the  bottom  of  this  feeling.  The  impres- 
sion is,  that  it  is  a very  expensive  matter  to  bring  a 
missionary  home,  support  him  while  here,  and  then  send 
him  hack;  but  the  impression  is  erroneous.  We  who 
live  in  Egypt  and  Syria  do  not  need  to  come  home  from 
China  nor  India,  nor  to  sail  around  the  Cape;  the  jour- 
ney can  be  performed  in  a month,  and  at  a cost  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars ; and,  according  to  the  rules  of 
our  Board,  a mission  family  of  ordinary  size  can  be 
brought  home,  kept  here  a year  and  sent  back,  at  a cost 
not  greater  than  it  would  have  been  to  support  them  on 
the  field.  But  even  in  cases  where  it  is  not  thus,  they 
must  be  brought  home  when  necessary,  or  greater  sacri- 
fices must  result. 

While  home,  the  missionaries  should  be  regarded  and 
treated  by  the  church  and  its  authorities  as  invalids . It 
is  not  their  business  to  go  from  Dan  to  Beersheba  of  our 
American  Zion,  canvassing  the  churches  to  raise  the 
means  for  carrying  on  the  foreign  work.  When  able  for 
the  wear  and  tear  of  this  duty,  the  sooner,  in  all  ordinary 
cases,  they  are  sent  back  to  their  distant  fields  of  labor, 
the  better.  You  would  not  call  your  trained  soldiers 
home  to  serve  as  tax-gatherers. 

I know  it  is  pleasant  and  very  satisfactory  for  people 
to  hear  from  the  mouths  of  missionaries  themselves,  the 
narration  of  the  Lord's  doings  in  far-distant  lands;  and 
that  it  has  a tendency  to  increase  their  interest  and  con- 
sequent contributions.  But  the  pastors  should  see  to  it 
that  their  people  abound  in  this  grace  (of  liberality)  also. 
A missionary  who,  by  long  years  of  toil,  has  prepared 
himself  for  the  foreign  work,  is  too  precious  a man,  too 


35 


expensive  a luxury,  to  be  sent  through  the  country  as  a 
traveling  agent.  I have  spent  thirteen  years  in  the  for- 
eign work,  and  I now  feel  that  I am  just  prepared  for 
efficient  duty.  It  has  cost  the  church  about  thirteen 
thousand  dollars,  to  prepare  me  for  it.  The  church 
cannot  now  afford  to  use  me  in  any  other  business. 
Not  that  I have,  personally,  any  antipathy  to  this 
work.  I do  not  at  all  sympathize  with  the  feeling  of  a 
returned  missionary  whom  I lately  met,  who  had  done 
much  in  visiting  churches,  who  said,  that  while  he  would 
go  to  the  churches  and  make  his  statements,  he  would 
have  nothing  to  do  with  the  collection  of  money.  I have 
no  scruple  in  telling  Christian  men  or  congregations, 
that  it  is  their  duty  to  contribute  liberally  to  this  cause, 
and  to  ask  them  to  do  so;  and  it  is  pleasant,  too  (we 
missionaries  have  enough  of  old  Adam  remaining  in  us 
to  feel  it  so),  to  go  through  the  churches,  as  was  said  of 
one,  like  a “burning  seraph,”  and  to  be  honored  and 
feted  and  lionized,  but  it  is  not  our  business.  It  is  not 
our  duty.  No!  difficult  as  it  is  to  decline  the  pressing 
invitations  which  come  from  many  beloved  fathers  and 
brethren  in  the  ministry,  I cannot  feel  that  it  is  my  duty 
to  undertake  the  work.  Another  work  I can  do,  though 
on  the  invalid  corps.  It  is  that  for  which  so  many  of 
our  veterans  have  so  recently  been  called  back  from  the 
front  to  our  great  metropolis.  I also  stand  before  you 
with  some  claims  to  the  character  of  a veteran,  having 
seen  some  actual  service.  I have  seen  blood,  and  am 
not  afraid  of  it.  It  is  red,  and  thicker  than  water,  and 
I stand  upon  the  floor  of  this  house  to-day  prepared  to 
enforce  the  draft.  Should  the  Holy  Ghost  say  of  this 
Paul  or  that  Barnabas,  Separate  him  to  take  the  place 
of  our  dear  brother  Frazier,  who  has  just  fallen  in  the 
high  places  of  the  field,  are  you , as  a court  of  the  Lord's 
hortse,  using  the  means — have  you  placed  yourselves  in 
the  attitude  to  hear  that  voice  ? 

Such,  brethren,  is  the  warfare  in  which  we  are  en- 
gaged. In  it,  “we  wrestle  not  against  flesh  and  blood, 


36 


but  against  principalities,  against  powers,  against  the 
rulers  of  the  darkness  of  the  world,  against  spiritual  wick- 
edness in  high  places.”  In  it,  we  can  say,  not  boast- 
ingly,  but  with  deep  humility  and  gratitude  to  the 
Captain  of  our  salvation,  who  has  led  us,  that  we  have 
not  hitherto  been  as  men  beating  the  air.  We  ask  you, 
for  the  time  to  come,  like  Aaron  and  Hur,  to  support 
our  arms  by  your  prayers  and  efforts,  so  that,  at  length, 
when  we  shall  be  called  upon  to  exchange  our  weapons  for 
the  crown,  we  shall  also  be  able  to  say  with  Paul:  “/ 
have  fought  a good  fight , I have  finished  my  course , I 
have  kept  the  faith;  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a 
crown  of  righteousness , which  the  Lord , the  righteous 
Judge , shall  give  me  at  that  day , and  not  unto  me  only , 
hut  unto  all  them  also  that  love  his  appearing .” 


